Syria

France Stresses Importance of Protecting Syria from Foreign Exploitation

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, stated on Sunday that it is "essential that no foreign power" takes advantage of the regime change in Damascus to weaken Syria, while his Syrian counterpart began an official visit to Qatar. "Syria will obviously need help, but it is essential that no foreign power, as Russia and Iran ...

Syria Monitor Reports Blasts at Arms Depots Near Damascus

A Syria war monitor said explosions on Sunday rocked an area near Damascus housing weapons depots used by the toppled government of Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the blasts in Kisweh, south of the Syrian capital, may be the result of an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military, which has struck many ...

Syrian Ministers Urge Lifting of US Sanctions in First Visit to Doha

Ministers from Syria's transitional government urged the United States to lift its sanctions on Damascus during their first visit to Qatar since overthrowing president Bashar al-Assad. In a statement, Qatar's foreign ministry said the Gulf country's premier met with Syria's interim foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, defense minister Murhaf Abu ...

Syria Says International Flights to and from Damascus to Resume Tuesday

Syria said on Saturday the country's main airport in Damascus would resume international flights starting next week after such commercial trips were halted following last month's ousting of president Bashar al-Assad. "We announce we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport from" ...

German FM: No Financing for an Islamist State in Syria

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned Syria's new leaders Friday not to establish an Islamist government after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month. "Europe will support" Syria in its transition, "but Europe will not finance new Islamist structures," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a visit to Syria. "This ...

Syria: Barrot Calls for Inclusivity, Destruction of Chemical Weapons

Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called on Syria's new rulers Friday to reach a settlement with Kurdish authorities in the northeast. Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock met Syria's new ruler, Ahmad el-Sharaa, in Damascus, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers since Islamist-led rebels seized power ...

Israel Strikes Syrian Army Positions Near Aleppo

Israel bombed Syrian army positions south of Aleppo late Thursday night, the latest such strikes since the overthrow of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor and local residents said. Residents reported hearing huge explosions in the area, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted defense and research ...

Israeli Military Confirms Destruction of Iranian-funded Missile Factory in Syria

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that dozens of its troops were flown into Syria in September to destroy an underground missile factory funded by Iran. The military, which rarely comments on its activities inside Syria, said in a statement that the September 8 raid involved more than 100 Israeli commando soldiers who dismantled the ...

Syria Minister Defends Controversial School Curriculum Changes

Syria's education minister on Thursday sought to minimize curriculum changes announced this week by the new Islamist-led authorities, after activists denounced them as "extremist" and potentially harmful to religious minorities. The amendments were announced Wednesday on the Facebook page of the interim leadership's education ministry, a little ...

Syrian Forces Launch Security Sweep in Homs

Syrian security forces are conducting an operation in Homs city, state media reported on Thursday, with a monitor saying it targeted two districts that are home to the Alawite minority of toppled president Bashar al-Assad. "The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Military Operations Department, begins a wide-scale combing operation in ...